Cleared for take off: Putting the element on fun back into travel

Travellers   tend   to   be   both   restless   and   self-protective,  and  while  some  have  historically  tended  toward  adventure,  more  have  looked for relaxation and a pleasant change of pace. It is usually safest to stay home, but that safety can feel deadening. Wary after a year of dealing  with  an  airborne  virus,  many  people  are wondering when it will be possible to plan a week in Paris or the Caribbean without worrying whether the pandemic will overshadow the fun.

Will a cruise ship ever again seem like a pleasure vessel rather than a deathtrap?Most  adult  would-be  travellers  in  the  US  enjoy relative privilege and are gaining access to  the  vaccine,  and  while  herd  immunity  remains  elusive  in  the  country  at  large,  it  is  higher among more socio-economically privileged populations, and, perhaps, among fliers, the anti-vaxxers notwithstanding.

The  cycle  of  modernisation  dictates  that  new dangers emerge in one area as new safety measures  pop  up  in  another:  cars  are  faster,  but  they  have  seatbelts;  more  people visit the Grand Canyon, but    there    are    guard    rails    where     visitors     congregate.  Will    we    continue    to    wear    masks at 5,000 feet? Given how many   ordinary colds I  contracted  after  flights  in  the  old  days,  the  idea  of  exposing  myself  to  shared,  recycled,  compressed   air   has   becomedistasteful  as  a  matter  more  of  general hygiene than of mortal terror, though most  airlines  are  employing  advanced  filtration systems.The pandemic is under better control in developed  locations  than  in  developing  ones.  This  is  not  only  a  moral  outrage,  but  also  a  problematic  one  for  less  wealthy  countries  where  local  economies  depend  on  tourism.

Americans  who  fear  COVID  may  prioritise  travel to Britain or Europe. But what will they find  there?  COVID  has  closed  down  restaurants  and  museums,  and  they  are  reopening  only  very  gradually,  even  in  London, Vienna and Prague.In  a  time  of  celebrating  the  non-European   ancestry   of   a   near-majority   of   Americans,   the urgency of visiting Africa, Asia,  Latin  America  and  the  Middle East is self-evident.

Decisions  must  be  made  country  by   country.   Many   travellers   across the years have assessed reports  of  possible  unrest,  or  considered whether particular places are welcoming  to  women,  to  LGBTQIA  people,  to  members of religious minorities. We will continue  to  follow  those  COVID  numbers  as  if  they were both revelatory and predictive.

It’s comforting  to  be  vaccinated  and  to  go  where  everyone else is vaccinated, too; but there are ways  to  regulate  trips  to  places  where  vaccines  are  less  available  and  still  stay  safe  while  ensuring  you  don’t  become  a  super-spreader    yourself.    Travellers    can    avoid    crowded  settings,  wear  masks  and  dine  in  places where climate allows them to do so.

The question of travel is not merely a matter  of  fun.  Travel  is  a  necessary  part  of  our  continuing education. The 19th-century naturalist Alexander von Humboldt wrote, “There is  no  worldview  so  dangerous  as  the  world-view of those who have not viewed the world.” Much as the boundaries of our bubbles drove many of us slightly mad during quarantine, so being locked in our own country has been devastating  for  many  of  us.  Every  country’s  success depends on the inquisitiveness of its citizens.  If  we  lose  that,  we  lose  our  moral  com-pass.  Travel  is  a  two-way  street,  and  let  us  hope that it will soon be bumper-to-bumper in both directions